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Desmond Trufant takes part in a drill Feb. 26 at the NFL combine in Indianapolis. (Dave Martin/AP Photo)

Next Thursday, if the experts are correct, former Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant will be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The 6-foot, 185-pound speedster from Tacoma shot up draft boards in the past eight months with an all-conference 2012 campaign and an equally impressive offseason, one highlighted by the 4.38 seconds it took Trufant to run the 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.

It seems NFL decision-makers are finally starting to realize what Trufant’s former teammates have known for quite some time.

Desmond Trufant. (Getty Images)

“He has everything,” said Marcus Peters, a UW sophomore cornerback who’s battling to take over Trufant’s vacated spot in the secondary. “He’s smart, he’s fast, he’s physical. And he knows how to break down offenses.”

While Trufant is on a whirlwind tour of workouts and meetings building up to the big show in New York City on April 25, the Huskies are battling through the final days of spring practice. Yet even with Trufant gone, his presence is still felt by his former teammates on the shores of Montlake.

Last season, safety Sean Parker and Trufant were Husky co-captains and friends who spent their downtime hanging out at Trufant’s apartment. Parker is a senior, the leader of the UW’s last line of defense. He’s an all-conference candidate next season who could be following in Trufant’s footsteps next spring for the 2014 draft.

“I could talk to him about anything,” Parker said. “He’s like a brother to me. I look up to him, and I hope to be where he is some day.”

Trufant could be forgiven if the whole NFL thing didn’t seem like that big a deal. After all, two of his older brothers, Marcus and Isaiah, are veterans who have spent a combined 13 seasons in the pros. Marcus Trufant, of course, was drafted 11th overall by the Seattle Seahawks out of Washington State in 2003, and has spent all 10 of his NFL seasons in the Northwest.

Desmond, the youngest of the Trufant boys, originally committed to follow in his eldest brother’s footsteps and attend college on the Palouse. Then the UW hired Steve Sarkisian, and Sarkisian made it a priority to bring Trufant into the fold. Sark succeeded.

A lack of depth on a UW team fresh off an 0-12 season forced Trufant into early action at cornerback, where he struggled for much of his first two seasons to adjust to the high-flying offensive attacks found in the Pac-12. In the first game of his junior season, Trufant was torched to the tune of 10 catches for 140 yards by Eastern Washington’s Brandon Kaufman, but Trufant redeemed himself with a game-clinching interception on the Eagles’ final drive, ensuring the Huskies avoided a season-opening upset.

Trufant continued his late game heroics last September, when he intercepted Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes during the fourth quarter to clinch a UW win over a Cardinal team then ranked seventh in the nation.

Perhaps more than any other player, Trufant was responsible for helping the UW defense rise from 106th in the nation in 2011 to 31st in 2012.

“I wouldn’t have to worry about his side (of the field),” Parker said, “because it’s Trufant Island over there. He proves it time and time again.”

But the mild-mannered cornerback saved his best performance for the biggest stage, when he limited the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, USC wide receiver Marqise Lee, to a season-low two catches and 32 yards.

That performance, more than any, began to draw first-round draft buzz for Trufant. Draft gurus think he could go as high as No. 13 overall, to Tampa Bay, which may be on the lookout for an elite cornerback now that trade talks with the New York Jets for Darrelle Revis are believed to have stalled.

Trufant, Alabama’s Dee Milliner and Florida State’s Xavier Rhodes are widely regarded as the three top cornerbacks in the draft.

Other oft-predicted landing spots for Trufant include the Chicago Bears at No. 20 or the Atlanta Falcons at No. 30.

If Trufant is selected among the first 32 picks next Thursday night, he’ll become the 20th first-round selection in UW history. And while the Huskies are thrilled for their former star, they also wouldn’t mind if Trufant finagled himself one last year of NCAA eligibility.

“We miss him a lot. Shoot, I wish he was back out here,” Heyward said. “But I’m excited for what he’s about to do next weekend.”